


The Apology Book

by Tory (Ejes)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Bickering, Childhood, Children, Family, Father Figure, Siblings, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-03-17 18:56:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13665219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ejes/pseuds/Tory
Summary: You can't expect children to grow up together without occasionally fighting, and Terra and Aqua were no exception. However, Eraqus came up with an idea to make sure they'd never stay angry for too long: the Apology Book. Follow these two children growing up, fighting and patching things up.





	1. Year 2. March.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been teasing this fic for so long, here it finally is! Out for my birthday, heheh. Although you don't need to read it to understand, for more info on how they both ended up in the Land of Departure, you can have a look at my other fic, "The Will to Protect". It's pretty short, and gives more context. Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer : KH and its characters belongs to Square Enix

“You’re so stupid, and I hate you!”

“Well, I hate you more!”

The two kids looked angrily at each other, ready to fight at any moment. Eraqus rushed into the room as soon as he heard the screams.

“What is the meaning of this? Terra? Aqua?”

Aqua crossed her arms and turned her back to Terra.

“Terra said I was an ugly moron.”

“Excuse-me? Terra, is that true?”

“That she is an ugly moron? Yes, that’s true.”

Eraqus sighed. If the kids got along fairly well, it still wasn’t the first time they would fight.  _ And not the last _ , he bitterly thought.

“Why would you say that to her?”

Terra crossed his arms too. Eraqus sighed again. He probably had sighed more in the last year than for his entire life.

“Terra? I’m waiting.”

“She didn’t want to play swords with me, and I said I didn’t need an ugly moron to play with me anyway.”

Eraqus did his best not to sigh a third time. He felt like he was aging so much when with these two.

“I’d like you to apologize to her.”

“I won’t. She said that her books were a better company than me. She apologizes first.”

“Aqua?”

“No way. I was telling the truth. You can’t punish me for telling the truth.”

Eraqus massaged his temples for a moment.

“Go to your rooms. Both of you. Do whatever activity you see fit, but I don’t want you to leave the room before dinner. I don’t want to hear any complaint. Any screaming. Anything. Am I clear?”

The kids glared at him, but his severe look did not falter.

“Yes, Master.”

They both left for their room, Terra walking as far from Aqua as he could. Eraqus had to think of something to teach them the value of friendship. Of how they should not waste their time in fighting each other, but instead have each other’s back at anytime.

He had been in this position, once. He had a friend, a fellow disciple, learning with the same Master. They got along when they were kids, and would often play together, but as time passed, they grew apart, following drastically different roads… Eraqus did not wish that for his students. 

He knew how much they loved each other, but as they grew up, they started to develop a certain pride. When they first met, Terra was always very honest with how he was feeling, and Aqua was nothing but smiles and compliments. But now, they were starting to hide their feelings. Terra wanted to act all tough and proud, and he wouldn’t let any “weakness”, as he called it, show up. Aqua had started building a wall around her heart again, and instead of saying when she was hurt by Terra’s words, she would keep it for herself, sulking in silence.

Eraqus feared it would be because of what they read - the books were the only way they would know about the other worlds, now. Terra was fascinated by stories of strong men slaying dragons, and these men never complained, never asked for help, never spilled any emotion. Aqua read lots of books, but she simply started imitating Terra - although she was softer than him, and probably had started keeping things for herself because she did not want to trouble others.

Eraqus smiled. He had an idea.

He first knocked on Aqua’s door. The little girl did not answer. He slowly pushed the door, and she was on the floor, braiding threads into a bracelet.

“Aqua. I have a little assignment for you.”

She lifted her head.

“What is it?”

“See this book?” He showed her a simple notebook, its cover as blue as the girl’s hair. She nodded. “This is an apology book. I know you are angry at Terra, but he’s still your friend, isn’t he?”

She thought for a few seconds before shyly nodding.

“Do you want him to stay angry at you?”

“No… But he won’t apologize. I know it.”

“This is what the apology book is for. You have to write an apology for hurting him, as well as something nice about him. Then magic will operate and will make everything better!”

The girl’s eyes sparkled. “For real? Can magic make that?”

Eraqus chuckled. “Of course. Magic can do anything, if you believe hard enough. Bring the notebook at dinner, okay?”

She took it from his hand and hurriedly went to her desk, opening it and taking a pen. Eraqus gave her a soft smile before moving to Terra’s room.

The boy was reading a book, and Eraqus noticed with joy that it was Aqua’s favourite book. She had been trying to get Terra to read it for a while, but he always refused, pretending it was a “girl’s book”.

Eraqus gave him the same speech about the notebook, and Terra was as eager as Aqua had been to write in it and fix things up. Eraqus left his room, a smile on his lips.

When dinnertime came, the two kids quickly exchanged an angry look, before turning their head in the opposite direction. Eraqus still noticed how they both looked sadly at their notebooks, thinking it did not work.

“Please, sit down, children.” They did. “I believe you both have something written in that book?”

“You said it would fix things. I think mine is broken.” Aqua pouted.

“Mine too. Your magic sucks.”

“Terra, watch your language, please. Broken, huh? That is strange, it should be working… Terra, would you mind reading what you wrote in there?”

“What? No way! That’s too…”

“Too what? Didn’t you write in it to be friend with Aqua again?”

“Yes, but… That’s… That’s embarrassing.”

“Shall I read it myself, then?” Playfully asked the Master, reaching out for the book. 

“No! No! I will… I will read it, okay? I will.”

Terra opened his book, his cheeks burning up.

“I’m sorry I called Aqua an ugly moron.” He stopped there and looked at Eraqus, terrified, his gaze avoiding at all cost Aqua whose cheeks were also a nice shade of pink.

“Is that all? Then it’s no wonder the magic did not work. You forgot the most important part.”

“No, I did not! It’s there! It’s just that… Oh, whatever. I’m sorry I called Aqua an ugly moron. She is not that ugly and she is clever.”

Eraqus almost drowned in the glass of water he was drinking. That was an interesting concept of compliment.

“Aqua, would you mind…?”

The girl’s hands were shaking, and she did not open her book. Instead, she closed her eyes, the way she did when she was reciting her lessons.

“I’m sorry I hurt Terra by telling him my books were a better company. But last time we did a swordfight, my spell almost hurt him and I’m scared I would hurt him again. I hope he won’t stay mad at me forever.”

They both dropped their book at the same time and ran into each other’s arms, blabbering apologies and forgiveness. Eraqus smiled tenderly.

“My magic always work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic will be weekly! It was quite challenging, because I'm not really good at writing children speaking. But with this, you will get glimpses of their childhood and watch them grow up. Hope you liked this first chapter :D


	2. Year 2, August

“Aqua, come and play with me!”

“No! You keep on cheating!”

“I won’t cheat this time!”

“Liar!”

Aqua had been peacefully playing outside with her doll (a present the Master brought her from another world) when Terra popped out of nowhere, a board game in hand.

“Since you have this doll, you never play with me anymore. I’m lonely!”

“Then play with me! We can pretend we’re a family and that’s our baby!”

Terra looked at the doll with a disgusted look.

“No, thank you. This thing is creepy. I don’t want to be its father.”

“ _ Her  _ father! Her name is Sara.”

“That’s an ugly name for an ugly doll. Ditch it and play with me instead.”

“No, thank you. Sara and I will stay here. Find someone else to play with you.”

“Like who?”

“... Let me play in peace.”

Terra left her, sulking. He kicked all that was in his way as he walked back to the castle. That is, until he heard Master Eraqus’s voice calling.

“Aqua, would you mind coming here for a second?”

The girl instantly jumped on her feet and ran to her Master, ignoring Terra. 

“Oh, so she’s got time for her doll, she’s got time for the Master, but for me? Never!” He bitterly turned his head, and realised she had left her doll on the grass. He smirked. That doll was the reason she didn’t spend time with him anymore. But that could be easily fixed…

***

“Terra, you stole my doll, didn’t you?”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“You have no proof!”

“You hated it! You were jealous of it! Now tell me where it is!”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll tell the Master!”

“You always run crying to him for anything anyway!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“What is the matter this time?”

They both were startled by Eraqus’s voice.

“Nothing.” quickly answered Terra, glancing at Aqua.

“Aqua? Why were you screaming?”

She pouted and stayed silent for a couple of seconds.

“Nothing. We are just playing.” Terra did his best to hide his surprise.

“I see. Good. I was afraid you were fighting over something meaningless again. Which you are not, are you?”

“No, Master!” they both answered in unison. The Master smiled at them before going back to his office, were a mountain of paperwork was still waiting for him.

“Now tell me where you hid it.” Whispered Aqua, walking away from the office door.

“Aqua… Why did you not tell him?”

The little girl sighed, mimicking her Master.

“Getting you in trouble wouldn’t make me happy. And it wouldn’t give me Sara back.”

Terra looked at the floor, thinking. She protected him. She knew he did something bad to her, but she protected him.

“Follow me. She’s in the tree next to where you were playing.”

They both ran to the said place, and Terra jumped into the tree. He was used to climbing much higher places than that, anyway.

“Aqua…”

“What? Did you find it? .. Terra?”

But Terra stayed on his branch. He did not go down. He stayed still.

“Terra! What is it?”

The doll wasn’t on the branch anymore. The Departure Land had this weird shape, stairs-like, and the tree was on the edge of one if those steps. It could have been because of the wind, but the doll had fallen over the edge, to land a few meters below. From his branch, Terra could see it. Broken. Because of him.

“Terra, please come down. I’m worried.”

He jumped from the branch, next to Aqua. He couldn’t face her. But she still saw his face, the tears he was trying to hold down.

“Terra…?”

“I’m sorry. The doll…” He looked over the cliff and Aqua ran to see what he was talking about.

“Aqua, I’m sorry, the doll, it… she was still fine when I left it, I didn’t think it…”

But Aqua wasn’t listening. She started running, and running again, to her precious doll. From above, Terra could hear she was crying. It was better to leave her alone for now. He shamefully walked to his room, sat on his bed, plunged his head into his pillow and screamed at the top of his lungs. He was so stupid! He heard her going back into her room, and he knew she was still crying. To be fair, so was he.

His eyes landed on the red notebook on his desk. He sluggishly walked to it and opened it, grabbed a pen and started writing on it.

His eyes closed, he held the book close to his heart.

“Please, magic, work this time as well. I beg of you.”

He left his room and slid the notebook under her door, before going back to his room. Would she read it? Would she throw it away? It would only be fair.

But after only a couple of minutes, he heard knocking on his door. When he opened the door, Aqua was standing there, her eyes red and puffy, her nose running - probably matching his face - her broken doll in one hand, the notebook in the other.

“Do you want to play with me, Terra?”

“Of course. I mean, sure, Sara is broken, but what kind of parents would we be if we didn’t love our child unconditionally? Come in, I was about to make dinner for the three of us! Welcome home!”

Aqua gave him a bright smile and kissed him on the cheek.

“Yes. We are home. What a day it was! If only you saw the wind!”

She put the notebook back on the desk and sat on the floor, facing Terra, who pretended to be serving food to them.

On the book, under the date of the day, an entry read :  _  August 1st. I'm sorry I broke Aqua's doll. She is my friend and I was jealous she wouldn't play with me. But she is still my best friend and I don't want her to be angry at me. _

Eraqus had been right. They were all the other had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These kids are too cute for their own sake. (I wanted them to be Sora-like: not afraid of showing their feelings, although as they grow up, of course there will be less and less crying ;) )


	3. Year 2, November

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I wrote this fic, I realised that I wrote Aqua as a really terrifying kid. This chapter might be the first occurence of it.

"Aqua, it's not fair! The Master said we had to share that book. You can't keep it forever!"

"But I'm not done reading it yet!"

"You've read it three times already!"

"Two and a half. I told you, I'm not done."

"Just give it to me."

"When I'm done with it, Terra, not before."

Master Eraqus had brought them from another world a beautiful pop-up book, full of wonderful landscapes, dragons and fairies. The book was enchanted, and you could hear the sound of the birds, smell the fragrance of the grass, at every page. Of course, both of the children had wanted to read it, and Terra gracefully let Aqua take it first. But since then, the little girl, captivated by it, refused to hand it to him.

"I want it now."

He crossed his arms, and Aqua sighed.

"Fine. I'll give it to you under one condition."

"Which one?"

"You will have to bring me a fruit from the forest."

"A fruit?"

"Yes. Remember the purple ones we saw with the Master two weeks ago? Bring me one and I will give you the book. Think of it as a quest!"

The boy shrugged, giving up and accepting to play her game. "Fine. I'll get you that stupid fruit and then I'll be keeping the book for a month."

"Three days."

"A week."

"Deal."

And off he was, running to the forest to find her a purple fruit. Aqua smirked. She would be alone for at least an hour. The trees were those fruits grew were pretty deep in the forest and it would take a while for Terra to find them. She jumped back into her comfy armchair, watching with amazement the dragon fly away from the book and spit fire - it smelled like roasted marshmallows.

The soft sound of the river flowing lulling her, she soon closed her eyes, taking a well deserved nap.

* * *

When she opened her eyes again, the sun had started to set. She yawned, stretched, and the book fell from her knees. She looked at it and remembered Terra. Surely, he was back by now, wasn't he? She jumped from her seat and ran towards their rooms. He wasn't in his. Perhaps in hers? She put her hand on the door, her heart drumming in her chest. Slowly, she pushed the door. The room was empty. She started to worry.

Was he with the Master then? But if he wasn't, what should she tell him?

Her hands started shaking, and she took a deep breathe. The truth. That was what she should be telling him.

"Master?" She knocked on the door, trying to hide her panic.

"Aqua. Do you need anything? I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time with you today, but those reports Master Yen Sid sent me are…"

"Have you seen Terra?" She interrupted, her gaze locked on him.

"Terra? Weren't you playing together?" He furrowed his brows. "Did you fight again?"

Aqua felt tears pricking her eyes, but she fought them. Terra had taught her there were times to cry, and times to be brave. She would cry later.

"I think I've done something wrong."

"Please, tell me."

"I asked him to get me one of the purple fruits we saw last time. But he still hasn't come back."

"You what?" Eraqus jumped from his chair. "Why did you… No, it doesn't matter for now. When was that?"

"Early in the afternoon. A bit after we had lunch. I thought he would be gone for an hour, no more!"

Eraqus left the room in a hurry, followed by Aqua. He wasn't running, but his pace was so fast she was jogging next to him.

"Aqua, those fruits only last three days. After that, they wilt. There shouldn't be any of those fruits left. But this is really deep in the forest, and it's dangerous. I told you, I told both of you not to go there without me!"

"Is Terra in danger?" Her chest was about to explode. Tears were burning her eyes again. She wasn't as strong as Terra.

"I don't know. Perhaps he's just lost. Let's find him. Stay by my side. No wandering off."

She took his hand, and they rushed into the depth of the forest. It was so dense here it was almost night, and Aqua shivered, uneasy at the oppressing feeling it gave.

"Terra? Terra, can you hear me?" The Master's voice was calm, but she knew from the way he was clutching her hand he was worried, and that scared her. What if something happened to Terra because of her? Because of her selfishness?

"Terra! Terra, it's me! Please, answer!" Her high-pitched voice joined her Master's. They were walking slowly, looking everywhere for a sign of him. A sound. Anything.

But the forest was silent. No birds. No wind. Pure silence whispering terrible thoughts to her ear.

She saw him first. She saw him, and she froze, because she refused to accept what was in front of her.

Terra was lying on the ground, in a position far too unnatural for him to be taking a nap. His eyes were closed, his skin incredibly pale. The only colour on his face came from the crimson gash on his forehead, bleeding, and bleeding again.

"Mas...Ter…" She hiccupped more than she said, her shaking finger pointing to the boy's direction. Eraqus let go of her hand and ran to Terra's body. She did not move. She was paralyzed. Terrified. She told him once that she couldn't have friends, because she would only bring bad luck to them. He had laughed it off. He had promised he would be fine.

He wasn't fine.

She couldn't see what the Master was doing. His back hid everything, including Terra. Aqua couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. Her head was spinning, and her legs gave way beneath her.

"...qua!"

She finally realised the Master was talking to her. He was in front of her, actually. When did he move? Where was Terra?

"Aqua, can you stand?"

She looked at him, a crazed look in her eyes. Could she stand? She wasn't sure. How was Terra?

"Okay, up you go then."

Eraqus picked her up, carrying her with one arm. She finally noticed he was carrying Terra on his other side. The gash was gone.

"Master… Is he…"

"He'll be fine. I cast a Cura on him. He's just knocked out. I think he fell from the tree. You hear me, Aqua? He will be fine. You have nothing to worry about."

The man softly kissed her forehead, and life came back to her. Her heart started beating a regular beat again. Her brain started thinking again. Terra was fine. She did not kill him.

"Now, tell me. Why did you want that fruit?"

Shameful, she did not answer. She kept silent until the Master carried them back to Terra's room, lying down the boy on his bed.

"He needs some rest. I'm sure he'll be up by tomorrow morning, so don't worry too much, okay?"

"Can I… Can I sleep here tonight? Please."

Eraqus tenderly smiled, ruffling her hair. "Of course. I'll bring your mattress here after dinner. Give him some room in his own bed for tonight."

"Thank you."

Eraqus put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to cook dinner. Keep an eye on him, will you?"

"I will. I promise." The man chuckled at her solemnity. As soon as he left the room, Aqua ran into her bedroom, then was back in Terra's.

First of all, she placed the popup book next to him.

Then, she sat on his chair, opened her notebook and read out loud as she was writing.

"November 15th. I'm sorry I risked Terra's life, simply because I did not want to give him a book and tried to send him away. While I would have come back ages ago, he was brave enough to stay until he would find a fruit. I admire him so much, and I pray he will wake up soon."

She took his hand, and felt something in it. In his palm, tiny, wilted, was a purple fruit.

Aqua finally let the tears run freely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although I do dislike Eraqus in canon, I did my best to give him a father vibe. Back then, he wasn't a bad man... I guess.


	4. Year 3, January

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's in "My kids are psychopaths : the life of Eraqus", it is Aqua's birthday! Yaaay! What could possibly go wrong with a birthday?

"Terra, let me go in the Kitchen, please."

"That won't do. Please kindly wait in the lounge."

"But I want to have breakfast. I'm hungry."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Hot chocolate. Toasts. What I always eat."

Aqua tried to walk by him, but he stopped her, looking slightly panicked.

"I'll get that for you! Just you wait in the lounge!"

The boy grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the lounge room and sat her on a couch.

"Don't. Move. Got it?"

Aqua looked slightly annoyed but said nothing. Terra ran away to the kitchen.

"That was close! She almost got in. That would have been troublesome, right, Master?"

The boy grinned at his Master who smiled, while whipping some cream. Today was Aqua's birthday, and the boy had begged Eraqus to bake her a strawberry pie, her favourite. But that meant she couldn't be allowed into the kitchen until the pie was ready.

"Alright, let's make her a nice breakfast!"

Terra popped some toasts in the toaster, some milk in the microwave, and some powder cocoa in a mug. He poured the hot milk onto the mug, added an extra dose of whipping cream on top of it, sparkled some more cocoa for a pretty finish, put the toasts on a plate, put it all on a tray, added a jar of jam, some honey, butter, and a glass of fruit juice. Satisfied with how it looked, he left the kitchen with his tray under Eraqus's amused eyes.

"Breakfast is ready, _Mademoiselle_. … Aqua?"

She wasn't in the lounge anymore. Terra sighed, put the tray on the table and started looking for her.

She was in front of the library.

"What are you doing?"

"I wanted to read something. Why is it locked?"

"This place is forbidden as well. Go back to the lounge. Your breakfast is ready."

Aqua looked at him suspiciously.

"Am I your prisoner, Terra? Because it sure looks like I am."

The boy grinned. "Who knows? You might be. Please, at least eat the breakfast I prepared you, okay?"

She followed him back to the lounge and sat on the sofa, pouting.

"Thank you for the meal."

She spread the jam on the toasts in silence. Terra tried to smile at her, but she just ignored him, probably missing her books. The boy focused on how happy she would be when she'd discover the surprise party they had organized in the library for her, with the pie, and the present Terra had made her.

"Now that I'm done eating, can I go and get a book?"

_Focus on the positive, Terra,_ thought the boy, _it's okay even if she isn't grateful for the breakfast. That I spent time making. For her._

"Can't you just go and wait in your room? I'll call you when you can come back."

"So I am a prisoner. I don't like that. Can we play together, at least?"

Unfortunately, Terra still had things to do. He couldn't lose time with her. But he had an idea.

"Sure! Let's go play in your room then!"

She smiled, but that was a sad smile. Terra wondered if she really liked her books more than him.

"Do you want to play anything specific?" She asked as soon as they were in the room.

"Yeah, I know exactly what we should play! Wait for me just a moment!"

He ran out of the door and slammed it. With the key he had just stolen from her desk, he locked the room.

"Terra? What are you doing?" She sounded worried. He did not like that, but he knew it was just for a short time. It would be okay.

"We can't have you wandering around before we're ready, so just wait here! I'll get you out once everything is ready, okay?"

"Terra, don't! Open the door! Don't leave me here! Please!"

Her voice cracked. Was she crying? Terra almost unlocked the door, but he shook his head. It wouldn't last long. And it was to make sure the surprise was perfect. In the end, she would be happy, wouldn't she?

"It's okay, it's your room! You've got plenty of stuff to do in there, don't you? I'll come back for you, I promise."

"TERRA, NO!"

She banged on the door, but he chose to ignore her. It was for her good. Of course she would be annoyed right now, but the party would fix everything.

He also chose to ignore the knots in his stomach, tighter at every single one of her panicked screaming.

"Oh, you're back. Did she enjoy the breakfast?" Eraqus welcomed him with a bright smile. Terra failed to respond to it.

"She wanted a book. But I couldn't let her in the library."

"Where is she now?"

"In her room. Probably mad at me. But she'll forgive me, since this is for her, right?" Desperate, he looked at Eraqus, who put the now finished strawberry pie on the table they had set in the library. There were some sweets, bottles of fruit juice, a present carefully wrapped (Eraqus's), and one messily wrapped (Terra's). Terra had hung balloons all over the place. Everything was perfect.

Eraqus sighed and crouched to be at Terra's height.

"Listen up, Terra. I want you to be especially kind with Aqua, today, got it?"

"I know! It's her birthday, that's why!"

"No, it's… There's a bit more to that. I fear that today does not mark her eighth birthday, in her mind, but the second anniversary of… Of her coming here. As you know, because you lived that too, that is not a happy memory for her. You have been extremely brave since the day I took you in, but she didn't cope with it that well. Do you understand?"

Terra took a step back, shocked.

"I think I did something wrong."

Eraqus furrowed his brows.

"What do you mean?"

"She's not…. She's not _just_ in her room. I locked her there to keep her way. I thought she was just angry because I locked the door, but… I have to let her out."

The boy ran away, Eraqus following at a slower pace.

There was no sound coming from the room. Terra quickly unlocked the door and opened it.

The window was open, and Aqua was sitting on the edge of it, her face buried in her hands.

"Aqua!"

She did not move. Terra ran to her. "Aqua. Aqua? Could you move from the window, please?"

She did not. But Eraqus stepped into the room, scooped her up and sat her on her bed instead. She finally lifted her head from her hands, and her face pained Terra.

Her expression displayed pure terror. Her face was all white, as if every drop of blood had withdrawn from it. Terra sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Aqua. I didn't know. I just wanted to surprise you."

She started shaking in his arms.

"I've been stuck in a tiny closet for hours, waiting for Mama… Since then, I… I don't…"

Her voice broke, but Terra understood. So many things made sense now. Why she always slept with a nightlight on. Why she never closed her door when she was in her room. Why she refused to play hide-and-seek every time. And why she never mentioned her birthday (Terra knew the date from Eraqus), and did not celebrate it the year before.

She hated feeling locked in. Being in small places. Feeling trapped somehow with no way out. It would take her back to that day. Her world crumbled into pieces the very day of her _birthday_ , and Terra had been about to celebrate that.

"It's okay if you hate me, Aqua. I've been way too far. I've been a monster to you."

She shook her head. "I don't hate you. I never will. It's my fault, I should have told you."

He hugged her. "Don't you make yourself the culprit here when you've done nothing wrong."

They stayed silent for a moment. Eraqus was looking at them, both proud and sad. He kneeled before the little girl.

"Aqua? I know today is a very difficult day for you. But Terra did all of this because he wanted you to be happy. He woke up really early this morning, made sure not to wake you up, then woke _me_ up and asked if I could bake you a strawberry pie. He built you a present himself. All he did was to see you smile and be happy. His way of doing it ended up being quite wrong, but I think it's really important that you know all he ever wanted was to make you happy, okay?"

Aqua wiped out her tears.

"He… Terra, you did?"

"Yeah. You looked down lately. I guess I know why know, but I wanted to cheer you up. I failed, sorry."

Aqua looked at her Master, then at Terra with shiny eyes.

"Is there…" She blushed. "Is there any pie left?"

Eraqus laughed, while Terra jumped on his feet. "There is! Let's have the party in the garden, instead! And this won't be a birthday. It will just be the three of us enjoying cake, and you receiving presents for… For being the best girl around?"

"Terra, I'm the only girl around."

"Had there been any other, you'd still be the best. I know it."

They had cake outside, protected from the cold and the wind by a spell of Eraqus. Aqua was still a bit off, but she smiled and even laughed, and she stuffed her mouth with as much pie as she could. From her Master, she received a colouring book. And from Terra, she received a wood carved rabbit, that he had carved himself. She put it on her nightstand, and said it would be protecting her dreams from now on.

That night, when Terra went to sleep, he made sure to let the light in the corridor on, so that there would be light in her room. Then he went to his room, and opened his notebook. It wouldn't be for her, it would be for him this time. To feel better.

_I am sorry I reminded Aqua of terrible events when I just wanted to see her smile. She has got the prettiest smile I know and I hope I will never hurt her so much again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Aqua's breakfast might be a really French one, but people in different countries have really different things for breakfast and I didn't want to think too much about it, so here, she's taking the same breakfast as me XD
> 
> Aaah, the countless times my siblings locked me into my room... (now I spend so much time in my room that I probably wouldn't notice whether the door was locked or not though XD) When writing this, I asked Saphir for some of her memories of fights she had with her siblings, and she came up with pretty fun stories. Do you have any fun sibling fight story? (mine would put me in a suitcase and then throw the case into the stairs. A wonder I'm still alive.)
> 
> [also, Aqua wasn't on the edge of the window because she wanted to jump, uh? But looking outside helped fight the feeling of being locked in.]


	5. Year 3, April

****

The sound of the slap echoed on the walls for a very long time. Aqua was immobile, shocked, and Terra was looking at his own palm with awe. Eraqus held his breath.

"Terra, you…"

The Master had walked in the moment the boy had slapped Aqua. He had no context. He had no idea why Terra did that. He feared to ask, because Terra had never shown any sign of violence before.

"What is the meaning of this? Terra?"

Terra's face was as white as death. He was weighing what he just did. And Aqua still had not moved.

"She… I… I can't tell you!"

It was a beautiful, warm day, so even though Eraqus was standing in front of the door, Terra ran away, jumping through the window.

"Terra! Come back!"

"Are you going to punish him?"

At Aqua's small, shaking voice, Eraqus sighed. He kneeled down before her.

"Aqua. Would you mind telling me what happened?"

She hesitated, looking at the window. Her cheek was bright red, and she was obviously fighting the tears away, but she did not answer. Eraqus was often really proud that the children had such a sense of unity, that they would help each other no matter what. Even when they covered the other for some mistakes, he was still happy to see how close they were. But when one of them hurt the other… He couldn't help if he did not know.

"If you tell me the truth, than depending on the facts, I might not ground him. Just lecture him about violence."

"I… I think I went too far. He was right to slap me. Actually, I think you should too."

"I would never lay a hand on any of you, Aqua. I can promise you that."

"Can we find him first? I would like to apologize to him. Not through the book. With actual words."

Eraqus smiled. "Of course. Let's go." He took Aqua's hand and they went looking for Terra. He was exactly where Eraqus expected him to be: on the outer training field, practising some sparring moves with a stick.

"Terra, can I speak with you?"

He did not look their way. "I have nothing to tell you, Aqua."

"You don't, but I do. I want to apologize. Can you come over here?"

He ignored her, swishing the stick in the air.

"Don't be a child, Terra. Come on."

"But _I am_ a child. I am, and you are too, so stop always pretending you are not!"

Eraqus frowned. He had no idea what could have really happened between the two of them, but that looked serious.

"Terra, please. I don't know what Aqua said, but she is really sad she hurt you. Could you listen to what she has to say before deciding whether or not you should stay angry at her?"

Oh, sweet irony, Eraqus thought. That was his position right now. Trying to figure if he had to punish one of them, both of them, or none of them.

Terra finally dropped the stick and came back. He quickly glanced at Aqua's cheek, before staring back at his shoes, Eraqus noted.

"Terra, I… I am sorry. For what I said. I shouldn't have."

"No, you shouldn't."

"And I think you were right to slap me."

"I think so too."

"... Excuse me."

"No."

Eraqus expected a _I'm the one who should apologize_ , or something like that. It did not come. Terra did not add any extra word.

"Would you mind telling me the reason of this fight, at least?"

Terra shrugged, and Aqua sat on the bench next to them.

"I was practising my magic, and Terra told me he wanted to play outside. I told him he should train more. He said that he would train later, he wanted to play now. And I answered…"

She blushed, embarrassed.

"I answered that he would never fulfill his dream if he kept skipping training, that it was no wonder he was so bad at magic. And that if he did not get better, you would send him back to his world."

To say that Eraqus was shocked was an understatement. He could not believe his ears. Aqua, the soft, sweet little creature that was all smile all the time…

"Why… Those were some cruel words, Aqua. Incredibly cruel. Why on the worlds would you say that to him?"

"Because no matter what I say, he never takes training seriously! So I thought that if I scared him with that story, he would work harder! He's not training much lately, and I don't want him to fall behind. He wants to be as strong as you, and I think he can be, but not without training."

Eraqus sighed and looked at the sky.

"Terra is right, Aqua. He is still a child, and so are you. I know you are eager to be stronger. To become a Master. But this… This takes a lot of time. I don't want you to rush things. You are young. Enjoy your time. You might be training harder than him, but that does not give you the right to decide for him."

"I know. I just… I was afraid he would be giving up on his dream. But what I said is horrible, so horrible. There is no excuse for that."

Eraqus smiled. "As long as you understand that. Terra, do you want to add something?"

Sadness and anger were mixed in the boy's eyes. "Yes. I got angry because she was right. She is getting stronger than me and that discourages me. All that she said… I was thinking it already. I'm falling behind. All I can do is waver a stick when she can already summon a barrier and cast some ice spells. But when she said it… I'm terrified you would send me back, Master. I did not want her to say it. That's why I hit her."

Eraqus nodded.

"Very well. Thank you for your honesty, both of you. Also, you are both grounded. Aqua, you have no right to decide over Terra's life. You should support him at any time. You can disagree with him, but what you told him is inacceptable. We have beautiful flower beds around the Castle, but I fear they are full of weed. Until our flower beds are full of flowers only, you will remove any weed you see every morning. Get it?"

"Yes, Master Eraqus."

"As for you, Terra, you must know that violence is never the answer. I would like you to come to me if you ever feel sad, okay? Aqua and you are my precious students. I've sworn to train you, and I will. I will not 'send back' any of you. I will take all the time it takes to make you two accomplished Masters. That is a long road, so don't you worry if you see no progress - _I_ can see them. You are faster, stronger than what you used to be. But I cannot allow you to hit Aqua, or anyone for that matters. As your punishment, you will come to my study every morning. You fear to be left behind? You will receive extra training. But that will be harder than the usual one. Are you up to it?"

"I am, Master. Thank you."

Eraqus smiled and put his hands on the children's heads.

"Now it is time for our daily training. Shall we go?"

The kids jumped on their feet, and after a quick look, took each other's hand.

"Sorry about your cheek. Does it hurt?" Whispered Terra.

"I will live. I'm sorry for being so mean to you." Replied Aqua. Terra shrugged. "Forgotten already."

When night came, Terra opened his book on his desk.

_I am sorry I slapped Aqua out of anger. I was afraid I would really be sent away. Now that Master Eraqus and her are part of my life, I cannot imagine a life without them. It scares me to death._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aqua is the real monster here, really! When I was a kid, my siblings often told me I was adopted / they switched the babies at birth and that one day I would be sent back to my 'true' family. I think it annoyed my mother more than me, but they kept with this joke... For a while (actually they still joke about it sometimes, but I don't care much anyway and joke with them about it)  
> [*coughs* I might or might not have forgotten to post here, oops]


	6. Year 3, August

“Happy Birthday, Terra!”

The boy lazily opened an eye. Aqua and Eraqus were grinning like crazy in his room. It took him a moment to realize that it was indeed his birthday. They had talked about it a week ago - Aqua didn’t want to throw a surprise party because she wanted to be sure Terra would be okay with the celebration. It echoed the sad day he tried to celebrate hers… But if she did not like her birthday, she had no issue in celebrating his.

“Come on, we cooked you breakfast!”

He followed them to the kitchen, now really hyped up. He loved his birthday. When he was still on his hometown, his father would take him on his shoulders and take him to the Castle’s walls, so that he could see the whole city. On his last birthday (the last spent with his family, that was), the guards even let him patrol with them all day long, and he would never forget that. He wasn’t sad about those memories. He held them dearly, not dwelling on the past but taking the best of it. They did not celebrate his first birthday here, and although Eraqus let him play all day long last year instead of training, and even made a cake, they didn’t tell Aqua what they were celebrating. But when she asked this year when was Terra’s birthday, he felt really happy.

“One Terra Special, coming right up!”

Eraqus smiled as he flipped the bacon pancakes into Terra’s plate. The boy was drooling already. He would eat these all day long if he were allowed to.

“Let’s review today’s planning, shall we?” Giggled Aqua as he was stuffing as much food in his mouth as he could.

“‘ure’, ‘ell me”

“Don’t speak with your mouth full, that’s rude! Anyway. This morning, it will be a treasure hunt. Master Eraqus hid some keys all around the garden. There are seven of them, and once we have them all, we will be able to unlock the door to the dining room, where lunch will be waiting for us. Then, after lunch, I prepared some surprise games to play until it is time for the cake and the presents. Is that okay with you?”

“Master, Aqua, you’re the best.”

Aqua grinned. “If you are done with your pancakes, I suggest we get started, shall we?”

“Treasure hunt!” The boy jumped on his feet, ready to rush outside.

“A moment, please, Terra, Aqua.” Quietly called Eraqus. “I put some markers to limit the zone where the keys are. Please don’t go beyond, as this could be dangerous. And one last thing…”

He took from his back two knight helmets and put them on the children’s heads. “Two brave knights like you need some proper equipment, right? Go now, and have fun.”

They ran off to the garden under Eraqus’s loving eyes. They were growing up so fast, but he was glad to be reminded sometimes that they still were children.

“There, a key!”

“Aqua, climb on my shoulders, there’s one on this tree!”

“Terra, can you help me break that pot? There’s something in there!”

They spent the whole morning running all over the place, looking for the hidden keys. For most of them, getting them required teamwork, Aqua’s spells or Terra’s strength. Sometimes, they were kept in chests locked with a puzzle or a riddle, or kept in places that would be unreachable… Unless you were Terra.

When they came back, seven keys in hands, they were exhausted from the activity.

“You gathered all seven Keys? That’s good! You will become Masters in no time, I am sure.” Greeted Eraqus. “Now who’s up for lunch?”

The kids hurried to unlock the seven locks closing the dining room, and were welcomed by a table full of delicious food.

Starving thanks to all the running, they ate until their stomachs were full (that is to say Terra ate a lot more than Aqua). The boy then yawned.

“Aqua, I hope your games are peaceful ones, because I can’t move an inch right now!”

Luckily, what she had planned mostly involved board games, cards, and other quiet activities. Right now, Terra was trying to guess what Aqua was drawing.

“I know, I know! It’s a pineapple!”

That unlucky guess made poor Aqua laugh so much she started crying.

“No, Terra, it’s not… Not quite!”

“What? But it looks like one! I don’t know anything else that would look like that. I’m sure you are cheating!”

“Children, are you ready for the cake… Oh, Aqua, are you drawing a pineapple?”

The girl couldn’t breathe as she laughed.

“Aha! You see, even Master Eraqus knows it’s a pineapple! She said it wasn’t one, but…” Terra turned his head to look at his Master, and suddenly understood. He was soon laughing as hard as Aqua.

“Is something wrong?” The Master couldn’t help but laugh, his students’ giggles communicative.

“I get it, Aqua! It wasn’t a pineapple… It was the Master!”

“You are… correct…” She hiccuped, trying to wipe the tears away.

Eraqus stared at the drawing for a minute. That really looked like a pineapple, though… He laughed with them, conceding his atypical hairstyle could be confused for a fruit.

“Alright, presents first, or cake first?”

“Presents!” Yelled Aqua, staring at her own present. Eraqus smiled. “Very well. There you go, Terra. This one is from Aqua, and this one from me.”

Terra tore away the paper from the smallest one, Eraqus’s. It was a book.  _ The Knight’s Code _ . The boy’s eyes sparkled. 

“Thank you Master! This is awesome. I will learn it by heart!”

“I do not doubt you are already following most of these rules, young knight.”

“Open mine now, come on!” Hard not to chuckle at Aqua’s impatience.

The present was carefully wrapped, with lots of ribbons around it. Given how weird shaped the present was, it must have took it a lot of time to manage to wrap it. Terra carefully removed the paper, really curious as to what it could be. He almost dropped it when he understood what he was holding.

A Keyblade. Not a real one, of course, but a wooden one, handmade, with his name carved on it.

“Aqua… This is…”

“It took me a whole month to finish it! It’s hard enough not to break easily, so you can use that on training if you’d like. Do you… Do you like it?”

Tears had started running down his cheeks. “I do. I really do. Thank you, Aqua. This is… This is perfect. I will use it all the time. Thank you.”

She giggled, her cheeks red, relieved. She was probably worried he would regard it as just a mere toy. He spent the whole cake-eating session staring at it with amazement.

“How about we give that keyblade a try, then?” She grinned, taking out her wooden training sword from under the table.

“If you’re ready, I’m ready.” He grinned back.

“Wait to be outside to…” Eraqus stopped and sighed, knowing they wouldn’t listen. They were already fighting, so he instead watched how much progress they had made.

“Touché! Point for me!” Laughed Terra from the corridor.

“I demand a revenge!” Screamed Aqua’s high pitched voice.

“En garde!”

The sounds were getting more and more distant as they ran in the corridor, fighting while going outside.

Until there was no more sound. Then Aqua’s scream. Eraqus dropped the plates he had on his hands and rushed outside. Aqua was by the doorway. Terra was down the outside stairs, lying on the ground.

“He stepped back to avoid my hit, and he slipped! Terra, are you okay?”

Eraqus ran to the boy, followed by Aqua. She was terrified, as she always was when something happened to Terra.

“Of course I’m fine! Don’t you take that as your victory, you didn’t touch me!”

He was trying to act all brave, but Eraqus could see he was in pain. “Terra. Tell me the truth. Where does it hurt?”

“My left leg.” The boy grimaced, and held in a scream when Eraqus’s hand brushed his leg. Eraqus closed his eyes.

“It’s broken. With a Curaga, it will get better soon, but I recommend you don’t move for a couple of days.”

“I’m sorry, Terra. It’s all my fault.”

“What are you saying? This is the craziest birthday ever! Everything was fun. That’s just some battle damage, every hero needs some!” He grinned at Aqua, who shyly smiled back.

Eraqus cast the spell on Terra, and carried him to his room. Aqua stayed next to him until it was bedtime, reading him some chapters of his new book. When he fell asleep, his keyblade in hand, the little girl finally went back to her room, and opened her apology book. She knew Terra wasn’t mad at her, but she still felt guilty.

_ I’m sorry I pushed Terra on the stairs and broke his leg. He will be the bravest knight ever, and I admire him so much. _

She closed her book with a smile. She felt better already. She turned off the light, and went to bed, dreaming of the day where Terra and her would be real heroes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happyyyyy birthdaaaay toooo youuuu Terraaaa~  
> I can see Terra being an August guy. Why? No idea. I don't believe the month you are born defines your personality. But still, I felt like he would be an August guy. (Aqua being January and Ventus February :D )  
> And this is the day Eraqus turned officially into a pineapple.


	7. Year 4, May

“Why can’t we come, Master? That’s not fair!”

“Terra, you heard the Master. He said no.”

Eraqus sighed and massaged his temples. “I won’t be gone long. Master Yen Sid needs my help. You are old enough to stay alone for a day. Can I trust you?”

“No wonder, Aqua apparently was old enough for that when she was six.”

“Terra!”

As they grew up, Aqua was turning into the quiet and responsible one while Terra was becoming quite hot headed and sometimes impertinent. And they had not hit puberty yet. Eraqus feared for the future.

“It’s okay, Aqua. Terra, would you mind developing that thought?”

He would soon be late, but his priority always had to be them. Yen Sid would wait.

Terra crossed his arms. He didn’t answer.

“You are aware of the reasons why I left, you remember what the other option was, don’t you?”

“Oh, I know. If you didn’t come, I’d be dead by now.”

He defiantly looked at Eraqus. “I’m not saying you were wrong. All I’m saying is that you left her alone. That was just a fact, Master.”

“No, Terra, that was an accusation.”

He shrugged. “If you say so.”

“You can leave in peace, Master! We will take care of ourselves. Don’t you worry. You will be late if you stay any longer!”

Eraqus smiled at Aqua and gave a sad look at Terra. The boy once idolised him, but it appeared his admiration was slowly fading away. Eraqus never really wanted admiration from the kids, but respect was getting lost as well. He would have to talk with him soon.

“Okay, then. I’m going. I’ll be back for dinner. Be careful. And no playing with the fire, okay?”

“Oh come one, we are nine, not five.”

“We promise, Master.”

Eraqus gave them a last smile and left them. He hoped all would be well.

Once he was gone, Aqua frowned at Terra.

“You didn’t have to be so rude.”

“But you wanted to go with him, don’t you?”

She froze. “What?”

“You told me before.  _ This world is too small _ . You want to go out. You want to go closer to the stars. You want to see other worlds. I know it.”

“And you thought insulting the Master would be the best way for him to agree?”

“I don’t care if he punishes me. That’s just unfair how he ignores that you feel trapped! You’ve been here for so long, and he never let you out! I don’t really mind not leaving this place, but I know you do!”

Aqua smiled. “Terra, I appreciate that you are doing this for me, but don’t fight with the Master for me, please. It’s fine. I don’t mind staying here. After all, I get to be with you, and that’s better than seeing any world out there!”

She squeezed Terra’s hand and he finally smiled. “I just want you to be happy, Aqua.”

She laughed and kissed his cheek. “That alone makes me happy, Terra. Thank you. Now, what should we do?”

Terra started thinking.

“I know! Why don’t we make our own world?”

“How do we do that?”

“That’s easy! Follow me!”

Terra ran to his room, followed by Aqua. He took various things, from his keyblade to his pillow, as well as plenty of other random objects. Understanding what he was doing, Aqua went to her room and picked a few objects herself. They met in the lounge room ten minutes later.

“Okay, so this is our world! Let’s say that we have a mountain… Right here!” He stacked Aqua’s pillow and his where the mountain would be. “That’s the Feathery Mountains. They say everyone who went there fell into a deep sleep and never came back.”

“How terrifying! Luckily, you don’t have to go through the mountains to reach the village! There’s also the Enchanted Forest.” Aqua put her wood rabbit on the floor, and frowned. “That’s no forest. Just a minute!” She ran outside and soon came back with sticks, leaves and freshly picked flowers. She laid them around her rabbit. “There! So this forest is another way to go to the village! But if you are disrespectful of the Nature…” She added her teddy bear. “A gigantic bear will appear and chase you down!”

Terra nodded seriously. “Luckily, the villagers have opened a school to train people so that they can fight the bear!” He put his keyblade down. “There, the bravest men and women will learn how to defeat any monster!”

“Let’s not forget the library! Strength is important, but so is knowledge! Our village needs a library!” Aqua carefully put a book on the ground.

They looked at their pretty little planet, and suddenly gasped.

“WHAT WILL THEY EAT?”

They ran to the kitchen and brought back some cereals, that they spilled in their village. “There! They have cereal plantations now!” Terra added a glass of water on the ground (that he didn’t spill). “And they will have water from the well. That sounds good.”

Aqua looked proudly at everything. “That’s our world.”

“Ours, and ours only. Shall we get started?”

For all day long, they played in their world. They trained in school to become brave fighters, learnt all there was to know about just everything in the library. Terra foolishly thought she was strong enough to pick the rarest flower that existed and that only grew at the top of the Feathery Mountain, but he succumbed to sleep. It took Aqua a lot of effort and of ingenious ideas to save him without falling asleep too. Anytime sleep was taking over, she thought very strongly of her goal and that chased sleep away. But getting Terra out of the mountain was only the first step of her quest - as he was still asleep, she had to carry him through the Enchanted Forest. Everything was going on well, until she accidently stepped on a ladybug. The spirits of the forest were so angry they sent the bear after her. She thought all was lost, but her tears woke Terra up, and he defeated the monstrous bear to protect her. They finally could go back to the village to enjoy their peaceful life.

Terra asked for Aqua’s hand and gave her the flower from the Feathery Mountains as an oath of his eternal love. All the village learning how much they had been through, they were crowned King and Queen of this world. They would leave happily ever after… Until the frightening Pineapple Ogre appeared out of nowhere.

“Children, what is the meaning of this? Why is there food on the ground? Is that earth? And please tell me this is not flowers from the garden…”

Terra and Aqua joined their forces in order to defeat the Pineapple Ogre, Terra using his sword, Aqua her spells. They had to protect their world and their people at any cost.

The ogre was not amused, and the King and Queen were punished. They had to clean “all this mess” up, and were sent to bed with only a bowl of soup as dinner to teach them to spill food.

Eraqus had had quite a harsh day. Master Yen Sid didn’t bring good news, darkness was alarmingly growing and their old friend Master Xehanort was missing. The day had been rough, and he wasn’t in the mood for children’s play.

On the next day, though, two notebooks were waiting on the table in the kitchen, and as he read them, he felt guilty for getting angry.

_ I’m sorry I picked the flowers and made such a mess. And for shouting ‘Die, Ogre!’ at the Master. He always care so much for us, I don’t want him dead. I love him a lot. _

_ I’m sorry I was so rude to the Master. And for spilling food. The Master is as much a father to me as my own father was. I hope he won’t stay mad at me, because I love him a lot. _

He wiped the tear that ran on his cheek.

He should be the one apologizing to them. As soon as they would wake up, he would gladly let them give him a tour of their world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that's my personal favourite chapter. They are just so pure.


	8. Year 4, December

It was December 21st. First day of Winter. The shortest day of the year. And also a day off for the children, with no training and no school.

Aqua had decided she would wake up later than usual, as she disliked the idea of a day where it was dark most of the time. But Terra had decided otherwise.

The boy had woken up at six and had been unable to fall asleep again since then. He played for two hours in his room, before deciding he would bother Aqua. He grabbed a black marker and cheerfully pushed the door of her room.

She looked so peaceful in her sleep that Terra waited for a bit and simply looked at her. He wondered what she could dream about. Strawberry cakes, probably, given her stupid smile.

He uncapped the marker and came closer to her, ready to draw on her face. If the light from the corridor had not woken her up, the strong smell from the pen did. She saw Terra and quickly recoiled.

“Terra, what were you doing?”

“Me? Oh, nothing, nothing!” He tried to hide the marker in his back, but she frowned, suspicious.

“So why are you in my bedroom, leaning over me while I sleep, for nothing?”

He rolled his eyes, and finally noticed the teddy bear she was clutching.

“More importantly, aren’t you a bit too old for sleeping with a plushie, Aqua?”

She blushed. “What do you mean? There is no age for that!”

“Uh, yes, there is, and you are way over it! What a baby!”

“I’m not a baby!”

“Are you going to cry, baby?”

“I’m not a baby!”

At first, he was just joking, of course. Teasing her a bit. But although he couldn’t explain how, the teasing turned into an actual fight, and they were now angry at each other.

“Yes, you are, and that’s why you are still sleeping with a teddy bear and want the master to tell you a story before sleeping and need some light to sleep!”

He regretted these words as soon as they left his mouth. Aqua had tears in her eyes, now.

“Get out, Terra. Just get out.”

“Aqua, I didn’t…”

“Get out.”

His head low, he left the room, making sure to leave the door opened. He was tired, but he refused to find excuses for what he said. He just wanted to tease her. To play with her. Instead he made fun of her and hurt her.

Going back to his room, he saw his Apology Book. That thing was stupid, too. He could write whatever he wanted in that, that wouldn’t erase his words. What he needed was to go back in time, not a stupid notebook.

He took breakfast in silence, his heart heavy with guilt. Eraqus didn’t worry about Aqua staying in her room - she had told him she would sleep till late, and he thought she was still sleeping.

“Everything okay, Terra? You are very quiet today.”

“I’m… I’m just feeling a bit down. Nothing to worry about. I’ll go play in my room.” He left without any further word, under Eraqus’s concerned look.

When he went back to his room, Aqua’s door was closed (well, almost) and there was no sound in there. He knocked, but there was no answer. He sighed and pushed his own door.

Whatever he wanted to do, he had just no motivation whatsoever, so instead he just lied on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He heard someone softly knocking on his door. He jumped on his feet, hoping it was Aqua, and did his best to hide his disappointment when he saw his Master.

“May I come in?”

“Sure.”

Terra sat back on his bed, and Eraqus sat next to him.

“Do you want to talk about what you have on your mind?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I don’t think it’s good for you to keep it for yourself. I’ll always be there to listen to you, remember that.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just…”

Terra sighed.

“I don’t know. Everything I say comes out wrong, lately. Especially with Aqua. I just try to be funny and in the end I’m just hurting her. Do you think there is something wrong with me?”

Eraqus chuckled.

“I don’t think so. I think you are just growing up. You are not a little boy anymore, but you are not a man yet, so you don’t know how to act, and that’s why you say things you will regret later.”

“Do you know? Do you know how I should act, then?”

Eraqus fondled his hair.

“Remember, last year, when you told Aqua you were a child and you still wanted to act as one? Well, think about that. I am really happy that you want to grow up, but don’t force that onto Aqua. She is nine and you are ten. You still have plenty of time to grow up. So until then, enjoy every minute of your childhood. Perhaps it could help to tease her a bit less, too? But I know that she will love you no matter what, so don’t be too hard with yourself. Whatever happen, if you apologize and you mean it, I am sure she will forgive you.”

“Did you speak with her today?”

Eraqus looked surprised. “I didn’t. I thought she was still sleeping. Why?”

Terra chuckled. “You were just quite accurate. Thank you. I will do my best from today.”

Eraqus smiled and hugged the boy. “I know you will. I’m going back to my study, but if you want to talk about anything, even if you want to play, feel free to come.”

“I will. Thanks, Master!”

Eraqus left the room with a last smile.

Terra hurried to Aqua’s room. From behind the almost shut door, he could hear she was rummaging through her things. He carefully pushed the door, curious about what she was doing.

It took him a moment to understand. From where he was standing, she could not see him. There was a huge bag in the middle of the room, and she stuffed some things in there.

It was only when he saw the ear of her teddy bear poking out of the bag that he got what was happening.

“Aqua, what are you doing? Stop that!”

“You were right, Terra.” She sniffed. “I’m still a baby. The Master doesn’t sleep with a plush, he doesn’t have toys. These are baby things. I will never grow up if I keep all of that.”

“No, stop! We are not grown ups. We don’t have to act as such. We are still children. Children play with toys. They have dolls, they have plushies, they run in the mud, they play pretend. I’m sorry for what I’ve said. I didn’t mean it. I don’t think you are a baby.”

“Yes. Yes I am. You don’t sleep with a plushy.”

“That’s just because I don’t have one. I did, on my world. But I left it there, and since I never went back... And I still have toys, you know? I still play with them. Would you say I’m a baby?”

“Of course not.”

Terra put his hand into the bag and pulled her teddy bear out.

“And can you look at him in the eyes and tell him you don’t love him anymore?”

She stared at her teddy bear for a while, her bottom lip quivering. After a short hesitation, she ran to it and hugged it tight.

“I can’t! Oh, I can’t get rid of him. How could I do that?”

Terra lowered his head. “That’s all because of me. I’m sorry.”

Still hugging her bear in one arm, she hugged Terra with the other.

“It’s okay, Terra. I say some bad things too sometimes. You still are my best friend, forever.”

She kissed his cheek and smiled.

“I’m starving! What’s for breakfast?”

“Hey, Aqua?”

“Yes?”

“The Master said today was the darkest day of the year, right?”

She nodded.

“I know you hate the dark. Do you want us to sleep together tonight? That way you won’t be afraid.”

She giggled. “I would love that. Thank you Terra. With you by my side, I have no reason to be afraid of anything!”

She left the room, humming something about breakfast and pancakes. Terra smiled, but went to his room before joining her.

“I’m sorry I called Aqua a baby for still having a plushie. I wish I could stop hurting her feelings. She is still a child, but so am I, and I am glad to grow up with her.”

He closed his book and ran to the kitchen with a smile. If she managed to get some pancakes, he’d better hurry if he wanted some as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember that any time my siblings teased me, I would first laugh a bit then get angry reaaaal quick. !but well, I was a moody kid XD


	9. Year 5, February

"Hey, Terra, what will you do once you become a true Keyblade Master?"

"Mh? Why do you ask?"

"It's just… It's our dream. But yesterday, as I was trying to sleep, I thought about it. What do you do, once you fulfill your dream?"

Terra laughed.

"That's quite easy for me. I will travel to every world, and I will keep people safe. I will protect them with my blade, destroy the monsters, lock any world that has been opened. I won't let darkness prevail."

"I see." Aqua thoughtfully answered, her legs swinging under her chair.

"What about you, Aqua? What will you do?"

"I don't know. I would like to travel to other worlds too. To see if my world still exists. I want to learn more about other cultures. I'd like to see the stars, too."

"Stars?"

"Yeah. They must look pretty different from one world to another. I'd like to see that. Of course, I want to protect people too. But more importantly, I want to teach them how to protect themselves. I want to be just like Master Eraqus, to have a student, to teach him that there is no good or bad, no right or wrong."

"I think you would make a good teacher."

She smiled. "Thanks. I think you will do an excellent job at keeping people safe."

He chuckled. "I still have a long way to go, though. We can't even summon our own keyblades yet!"

"When we will both be Masters… Does that mean we won't see each other a lot?"

"Why would you say that?"

"The Master trained with Master Yen Sid, as well as Master… What was it? Xena something?"

"Xehanort, I think."

"Yes, right. Well, they trained together, and look at them now. Master Eraqus barely even visits Master Yen Sid. As for Master Xemna...Xena… Xeha… the other Master, I don't think they still see each other. That's sad. I don't want to stop seeing you."

Terra put a hand on her shoulder and balled his other fist in a determined gesture.

"Don't worry, Aqua. We have something they didn't have. An unbreakable connection. Nothing will ever tear us apart. Even if you go see the stars in other worlds, even if I go destroy monsters in other worlds, I know we will always be friends. Even if the stars look different from one world to another, it's still the same sky, you know."

"I guess you're right. Thanks, Terra."

He grinned and she smiled back. She was often looking at the sky, lately. He couldn't tell if she was missing home, but it was obvious she wanted to leave this place, once again.

"How about a duel?" He offered to change her mind. "The loser is on dishwashing duty for the rest of the week."

"A duel?"

"Yeah! We haven't fought in a while. Let's see how much we improved our swordsmanship!"

He picked two wooden swords and gave one to her.

"I won't use my keyblade. A fair and square match. No magic allowed either, of course."

"You know I have promised never to use magic on you anymore."

"Even Cure? That's rude."

"You know what I mean, Terra."

He winked.

"En garde!"

"Not here! Let's go to the training room, at least."

"Let's go to the main hall instead! We will pretend it's our Mark of Mastery Exam!"

"Very well. Let's go!"

She followed him to the hall, empty but for three empty seats. The Master had told them this was where he once became a Master, and where they would become ones too. He told them the exact trials were secret, but they knew it would probably involve fighting, proving their skills.

"Are you ready? I won't go easy on you!"

"If you go easy on me, I won't show mercy, Terra!"

He attacked first, with all his strength. She blocked the attack in time, and counterattacked.

Their last fight was half a year ago. Since then, they were learning techniques with the Master, but never had the occasion of clashing their blades again.

Aqua had improved a lot. She was swift, had a good defense and very few openings. Terra offered a bit more openings, but his attacks were strong and precise and left little time to actually attack.

The match lasted forever. Aqua wasn't attacking much, but Terra couldn't go through her defense. And of course, that started to annoy him. If it was true he wasn't really going easy on her, he started getting a bit more aggressive. Desperate. If he couldn't beat Aqua, who was a child, how could he dream of defeating monsters? He needed to win. He needed to prove himself what he was worth.

Aqua noticed something changed, he could see it in her eyes, in her frown. She hesitated, lowered her weapon. That was an opening! He dashed and thrust at her. The point of the blade hit her right in the solar plexus. She staggered a bit, shocked and gasping.

That's when he realised. It wasn't an opening. She had been lowering her blade to stop the match, because things were getting out of control. Because he was getting out of control.

"Aqua! Are you okay? Aqua?"

She fell to her knees, tears in her eyes. She was trying to regain her breathe. Terra ran to her, took her hand.

"Aqua, I'm sorry."

She looked at him, sad. "Terra, I don't doubt you will one day become a great Keyblade Master. But you need to work on your… your hunger for victory. Winning a fight doesn't always mean defeating your opponent. Sometimes, they will give up. Sometimes, you might realise that they weren't wrong, and you will have to give up. Wanting to win at any cost won't make you victorious. That's not what victory is."

Ashamed, he lowered his head.

"I'm sorry. I want to get stronger, Aqua. Stronger than anyone, so that I can protect everyone. But I just don't know how…"

Aqua's fingertips gently touched his cheek. "Strength isn't only physical. It's about the heart. I want you to be strong enough to stop your blade when needed. The Master told you so many times, but you never listen. Stop trying so hard to win, this might be the quickest path to victory. Promise?"

"I'll- I'll try. I'll do my best."

She smiled, her face quite pale. "Good. Now if you could help me to my room… I need to rest."

He helped her walk back to her bed, and sat by her side, worried. She assured she would be fine, she just felt a bit dizzy by the hit. She asked Terra to talk to her until she'd fall asleep - he told her all he could remember about his world. She loved his hometown stories.

She woke up and hour later, and he was still here, writing something.

"What are you writing?"

He blushed. "Do you want me to read it?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay. That's what they are for, after all. To embarrass us as a punition."

She laughed. He hesitated for a while, then finally went for it.

"I'm sorry I hit Aqua with my sword today. She taught me what a real victory was, and truth is, I know I didn't win this fight. I want my blade to protect, but right now all it does is hurt. I want Aqua to teach me more about true strength, because she is already a great teacher."

He looked away.

"That was even more embarrassing than what I thought."

She giggled. "That was cute. And very kind. I hope I can teach you more in the future, but I also hope you can teach me some more sparring moves. Let's grow stronger together."

He smiled and crossed his hands behind his head.

"Yeah. Stronger together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of references to the games and to Secret Place in there ;)
> 
> What did you guys think of the latest, Classical trailer? I really enjoyed it! Play and Watch throw me back to when I was a kid, and I might spend hours playing these minigames in KH3. They just look so much fun!


	10. Year 5, July

“Here comes the Glider! Watch out!”

Terra was running all around the castle with a paper Glider in hand. He made it himself and threw it everywhere, watching it glide in the air for a while before falling with delight. Aqua had been pretty secretive for the last few days, staying in her room when there was no training, but she had promised Terra he would soon know what she was up to, so he didn’t worry too much and just played on his own. However, today, she was out of her room, searching through every room, frantic. Terra stopped playing for a moment.

“Oh, Aqua. What are you looking for?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s not what it’s looking like.”

“Nothing of your concern, then.”

“Come on, I can help you!”

“No you can’t!”

She froze, looking suspiciously at the piece of paper in his hand.

“What is  _ that _ ?”

“That? Oh, that’s a Glider I made myself! Isn’t it cool? Look at how it flies!”

“What did you use to make it?”

“Can’t you see? It’s just paper-”

“I know it’s paper.” She interrupted, visibly angry. “But that paper? What is it?”

“Just some draft paper I found on the table… Why?”

Her face turned all red, and she looked really angry now.

“You had no right to take that! That was mine!”

“Yours?” Her sudden anger somehow annoyed him. “How was I supposed to know? It was lying around, I don’t remember seeing your name on it!”

“So you looked at it?”

“Not really, I just checked if that looked important, but since it did not, I used it.”

She snatched the glider from his hand and crumpled it.

“Hey! Why did you do that? That was mine!”

“That was  _ my _ paper!”

“Once again, how should have I known? Write your name or something on it next time!”

“I hate you!”

“I know you don’t.”

She coldly glared at him. “Right now, yes, I do.” Furious, she turned away and left, leaving an astounded Terra in the middle of the corridor.

 

After a while, he finally decided to knock on Eraqus’s door.

“Master, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Of course. Come in.” Terra carefully closed the heavy door behind him and came to sit on the chair next to his Master.

The desk was full of papers and of books about complicated topics and drawings Terra didn’t understand. Nervous, he started fidgeting his fingers in silence as Eraqus put his pencil down.

“What is it?”

“I’d like to ask you something first.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Are all girls so complicated, or is it just Aqua?”

Surprised, Eraqus let a laugh out. “I don’t think it would be fair to judge all women based on the behaviour of only one. What happened?”

“She got mad at me because I used one of her papers to make my Glider. She wasn’t annoyed, she was really angry, and I don’t know why.”

“Why did you use that paper?” Eraqus’s voice wasn’t judgemental, and Terra was grateful for that.

“I didn’t know it was hers. It was on the table, and there wasn’t anything important written on it. I thought it was a draft paper of some kind, but she acted as if it was something really important.”

“Did you apologize to her?”

“Not yet. I feel she overreacted so I don’t want to apologize right now. If only she told me why this paper was important!”

“I might have an idea of what it could have been. You should go and talk to her.”

“Can I wait for a moment? I’d like her to calm down first. If she’s still too angry at me I fear I will get angry too.”

“Fine. But not too long, okay?”

“I promise!” grinned Terra. He stayed for a while in the study, watching Eraqus work on his papers. After twenty minutes, he jumped on his feet.

“Well then, I shall be going!”

“Good luck.” laughed Eraqus, and Terra hurried to Aqua’s room. He knocked on the door.

“Aqua? May I come in?”

“No.”

“Please. I want to talk.”

There was a silence that he took as a positive answer. He pushed the door and came in.

There were books everywhere. On the desk, on the floor, on her beds. Leaning on her elbow, she was looking outside through the window.

“I’m sorry about the paper. I really didn’t know it was yours. Was it that important?”

“Yes, it was. You ruined everything.”

“Is there anyway I can help you? Rewrite what was on it, perhaps?”

“No. It’s not about that. I could write it again if I’d like. But now that you saw it, it’s too late.”

He sat on her bed, careful not to sit on a book.

“I don’t understand. I didn’t even read it that carefully, you know. I know there were some instructions on it, but I can’t even remember which ones.”

She didn’t answer.

“Aqua? Are you still my friend? Or do you hate me for real?”

“You know I could never hate you. But I’m just so sad you found it. It spoiled everything.”

“I promise I don’t know what was on that paper. I’m not saying this to calm you down, I’m saying this because this is true. Whatever it is, nothing has been spoiled, I promise.”

She turned her sad face to him.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Oh, but now you know there is something. So it’s too late anyway. You will think about it, then you will understand.” She sighed.

“Was that surprise that important anyway? Important enough for you to get that angry?”

She stayed silent for a moment, then she sadly smiled.

“I guess not. It’s just… I wanted to surprise you. I really wanted to.”

“Surprise me? Is it that thing you have been working on for so long?”

She nodded. “I guess I’ll just tell you. I’ve just ruined my own hype anyway.”

She came to sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

“I wanted to bake your birthday cake myself. But I didn’t want to make any sort of cake, I wanted one that was typical from your own world. The Master helped me find some books about your world so I would know what were the specialties. On this paper, there was a recipe I copied from a book. I was afraid you had recognized it… But now I’m just so angry at myself. There was no point in getting mad like this. I don’t want to keep secrets from you. That makes me nervous. Even if it’s to surprise you.”

Terra took her hand, his eyes sparkling. “I’m so happy you wanted to bake something that special for me. You went so far to find info on that! But if keeping things secret turns you that way, I’d rather you don’t keep anything from me.”

“Sorry. I wanted everything to be perfect and I let it go to my head.”

“About that cake… Are you still willing to do it?”

“I don’t know. What’s the point? There is no surprise now.”

Terra laughed.

“No surprise, but I would love to taste once again what my hometown food tasted like. I could help you, too! I don’t remember much but I still have some memories of time I helped my father cook. And you would get to know the taste of it too. Since I can’t take you there, at least we can travel by food.”

She smiled and squeezed his hand.

“Okay. We will make that cake next week, then. I’m sorry I acted to stupidly.”

Terra quickly kissed her cheek with a laugh.

“I’m the one acting stupidly 90% of the time, so I’m gladly letting you be stupid the remaining 10%!”

“Well then, I have some research work to do! I’ll ask you questions later. For now, leave, I’m busy!”

He laughed and left her room, happy to see her eyes spark once again.

Before going back to tell Eraqus everything was back to normal, he stopped in his room and opened his notebook.

_ I’m sorry I ruined Aqua’s surprise for my birthday. I am really happy she wants me to remember home, but I know that no matter how the cake tastes like, it will taste home anyway, because this is where I am right now. By her side. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They still sometimes fight over stupid things, which is sad, but yet is pretty appropriate for children. If the worst that could happen to them is "he knows what his surprise cake is", then we can say they have a pretty nice life!


	11. Year 5. October

" _In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend—no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love._ "

"Woah, so you really remember it all, Terra! That's so impressive!"

The boy laughed. "Well, these are words every keyblade Master shall know, as the ceremony is essential for new apprentices."

"I wonder when we will get our Ceremony." Aqua sighed. "Don't you wonder what your keyblade will look like?"

"I'm sure it will happen soon. We're not babies anymore! I'm sure I'll get a cool keyblade. A big one, that will be able to slash anything!"

"I'd like one with a magic boost. I don't really mind what it looks like, as long as it's got a good aim!"

"But for now, I do have this one, and I don't have to complain about it. It's unique."

Terra stared at his wooden keyblade and Aqua laughed. "I'm amazed you still have it."

"Sure do! There's no way I would break it. Can I tell you a secret? My best friend made it for me."

Aqua giggled. "That must be a really nice friend then."

"Yeah. The best one."

They laughed together.

"What about a fight?" Offered Terra, clasping his keyblade. He froze for a second and looked at Aqua, worried.

"I promise I won't… you know."

"Go berserk and try to kill me for real?" she teased, and he blushed. She laughed. "Don't you worry, I'm sure you learnt the lesson the other day. Let's find out who's the best swordsman!"

"Or swordswoman." He added with a wink. "Although I'm going to crush you."

"We'll see about that!"

She attacked without a warning and he dodgerolled quickly. "That was cheating! You want to play it dirty? Don't come back crying!"

He rushed on her, and soon enough, the melody of their wooden weapons hitting each other filled the air of this fall afternoon.

"Ah-ha! Victory is mine!" Aqua had fell on the ground and Terra was standing in front of her, panting, but victorious. He was holding his keyblade up as a trophy.

"Not if I can help it!" yelled Aqua, swiftly jumping back on her feet and hitting his blade.

Certain of his victory, the boy wasn't solidly gripping his weapon. The blow made the handle slip from his hand. They both stared the keyblade fly away, and away, slowly falling down right until the river.

"My weapon!" Terra instinctively started running towards the river.

"Terra, wait!"

"No, we can still get it in time! There's no way I'd give up on it!"

And he ran, and she ran. And ran. Until they reached the river. The blade somehow got stuck in the middle of the water, a rock having stopped it.

Before Aqua had time to realise, Terra had already jumped into the water.

"Terra, no!"

He was a good swimmer - they both were. He reached his weapon quickly, and he grinned at Aqua.

If that day was sunny, it had rained a lot for the last weeks, and the rivers were full. When he tried to swim back to Aqua, current got stronger, and no matter how hard he fought it, it was too strong for it.

Aqua watched him getting carried away by the water, his head barely popping out of the water.

Just like he didn't hesitate to save his blade, she didn't hesitate either. And just like him before, she jumped.

The current was strong, but it helped that she did not fight it. She let it carry her to Terra. She could barely see him, the currents were swallowing him, dragging him to the bottom of the river. He reached out for her and she managed to take his hand.

They were now together, but that didn't help much. They would just be drowning together.

_Better that than helplessly watching him drown_ , thought Aqua.

She was getting tired, but she knew the river would quickly carry them to a waterfall. They needed to find a way out, quickly.

Terra was unconscious now, and she saw black spots dancing in front of her eyes. She wouldn't last long. Her eyes were closing already. If only something stopped them…

* * *

She hurt something cold, but was too weak to open her eyes. She felt powerful hands grab her and take her out the river. She didn't let go of Terra's hand.

"Aqua? Aqua, can you hear me?"

"Mas...ter?"

She painfully opened her eyes. Eraqus was calm, but she could see in his eyes how scared he was. There was a kind of iceberg in the water, probably summoned by her Master to stop them.

"Terra?" She mumbled, trying to collect her thoughts.

"He's okay. He had water in his lungs but he coughed it all out."

"I see… Good." She smiled and lost consciousness again. Terra was safe.

* * *

When she woke up again, she was on a mattress in Terra's room. The boy was snoring peacefully in his bed, and Eraqus was sitting on a chair, visibly exhausted.

"Master?"

"Good morning, Aqua. How are you feeling?"

She saw his soft smile and finally broke into tears, realising how close to death they both had been. Eraqus took her in his arms, rocking her.

"There, there. It's over. It's over now. I think you both need quite a lecture, but that will wait. However… How did you end up in that river?"

"It's my fault" she sniffed. "Because of me, Terra's keyblade got thrown into the river. He jumped to get it back, but he couldn't swim back, so I went him to help him, and…"

"If he couldn't swim back, what made you think you could?"

"I don't know. I didn't really think about whether I could or not. He was drowning and I couldn't just watch, and I had no time to get you… My body moved on its own. But if you didn't cast that ice spell, we would be…"

Eraqus chuckled. "I did not, as a matter of fact."

"What?"

"I did not cast a spell. I didn't have time for that. You did."

Aqua gasped. "I did? But how? I was falling asleep, and I've never been able to cast a spell with precision!"

Eraqus ruffled her hair with a grin.

"I think  _that_  helped you."

She looked at what he was showing him and gasped even more. She quickly glanced at Terra - who was still asleep - then back at her Master.

"Master… Could you tell Terra you threw the spell?"

Eraqus frowned, surprised. "Why would you…"

"Please. Don't tell him. It's important."

Eraqus sighed and put a kiss on Aqua's forehead.

"Very well. I guess I can understand. But if you have any questions about it… Well, my door will always be open."

"Could you bring me by Apology Book back, too? I think I might need a bit of magic right now."

Eraqus chuckled. "I don't think he's going to be angry at you."

"This is not for him. It's for myself. It will help me forgive what I did."

The master smiled and brought her book back, along with a pen. She looked at Terra's innocent sleeping face for a while, before starting her apology.

_I'm sorry Terra almost drowned because of me. I'm glad he values the keyblade I made him so much, but I would like him to value his life more. However, I won't hesitate to risk my life again if that can save him. I would give up on everything for him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BBS summed up in one quote : "Terra, no!"
> 
> I can't help thinking about when they read extracts of this book in Secret Place... I mean with no context it sounds like Aqua tried to kill Terra again and again. With context you will just know that Terra is cute but not the smartest child ever x'D
> 
> [Also I realised I somehow forgot once to post a chapter... Luckily this is slice-of-life so it didn't impact the story, but I don't think I can kind of post it between two existing chapters... You can read it here if you'd like : https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12835072/8/The-Apology-Book ]


	12. Year 6. March.

“Hey, Aqua, who do you think will get a keyblade first? You, or me?”

“What’s with that, all of a sudden?” The kids were taking their breakfast when Terra asked that out of the blue.

“Do you think it will be me, because I’m older than you, or you, because you are more skilled at magic? That’s just a question, you know.”

She looked away. “We’ll know once that happens. There is no need to make theories right now.”

An awkward silence set in. She could feel his stare piercing through her skin.  _ It’s in your mind, Aqua. Just in your mind. _ She kept on repeating that in her head, but that didn’t help.

“Hey, can we go to the training room? I’d like to train sparring.”

“Can you train by yourself? The Master gave me a book about the stars I’d like to read.”

“What? But that’s no fun without you, Aqua! Come on, just for this morning. Please?”

He did his best to look miserable, but there was a gleam in his eyes she didn’t like. She still sighed and got up.

“Very well, but not too long, okay?”

“I promise! No worries, true friends do keep their promises, don’t they?”

Now she  _ was _ worried. They took their training weapons in the armoury (Terra’s being his usual keyblade) and opened the door to the training room. The room was full of light, and really warm. No matter the weather or the season, it was always at the right temperature to train. Aqua wondered if there was a bit of magic involved.

“You ready?”

Terra was facing her, his blade in hand. His eyes were full of determination. And of something else she couldn’t name. She firmly gripped her own blade and knew her eyes would be full of doubt and fear. She suppressed as much as she could the trembling of her hands, shushing the bad feeling she had.

“Ready.”

He rushed at her, his weapon over his head. She dodged and counterattacked.

At first, it felt like an usual training. It was purely physical attacks, no magic allowed, so Terra had the upper hand, but she was swift and her defense was almost flawless against him.

But after a while, something changed. It was a bit like the year before, when Terra had started to let power get to his head - except it felt like this time, he was going all out on her on purpose. She could see he was controlling perfectly was he was doing, and yet he was putting more strength, more violence in his blows than before. It became hard for Aqua to fight back, she could just defend herself.

“Terra, maybe we should stop?”

She quickly jumped to avoid a direct hit. He smirked. “No giving up.”

“Terra, you’re scaring me.”

She cartwheeled to escape him, but he dashed towards her, and she dropped her sword at his powerful hit.

“Terra, stop!”

“Why don’t you just block this last one?”

He surged at her, who was weaponless, her eyes full of fear. She defensively put her arm around her head to protect herself. And Terra’s blade crashed…

right against her keyblade, that appeared in her shaking hand.

The boy threw his blade away and stared at her with anger.

“I thought you promised to never keep any secret from me. I see I’m not worthy of knowing that you already are a Wielder.”

He turned around and started to leave. She was sitting on the ground, powerless.

“Wait! I can explain!” She called, but it was too late. He had slammed the door of the room, leaving her alone.

She wanted to cry. She felt so terrible, and so ashamed. She couldn’t decide whether telling him would have been or not the good solution.

She wiped her nose and stood up. There was no time to cry. She would set things right with him first.

She looked for him in every room, but he wasn’t anywhere. Not even in his room or hers. Not with the Master. She sighed, took a coat and tried outside.

And here he was, sitting on a bench, his arms around his knees.

“Terra, can we talk?”

“Why should we? Won’t you lie to me, once again?”

She sat next to him. The wind was still a bit chilly, and she instinctively huddled against him - he didn’t push her away.

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. You know I would never do that.”

“How long? How long has it been since you’ve been able to summon it?”

She rested her head against his shoulder. Once again, he did nothing to push her away.

“Remember that day we almost drowned in the river and Master Eraqus saved us by freezing the water? It wasn’t him. It was me. Apparently, my keyblade appeared while I was losing consciousness and my body acted on its own to save us. How long have you known?”

“Last month, you were having a nightmare and were kicking the wall. I came to your room to see if you were okay. You summoned it in your sleep. So you’ve been hiding this from me for  _ five _ months? Why was that? Did you think I would be too immature to accept that?”

He sounded really angry, but a bit sad too. Her heart was aching.

“No, it’s not that. I promise it’s not.”

“Then what?”

“I… I wanted you to be the first one to summon it. You’re always working so hard. You deserved to have it before me. Honestly, yes, I feared a bit you would be jealous, but more importantly I didn’t want to become a Wielder before you. That felt unfair. I didn’t want that blade, I didn’t want to start receiving a training for it, not without you. That’s why I asked the Master to keep that secret.”

Terra stayed silent for a moment.

“So you thought that if you could use a keyblade and I couldn’t, I would be left behind?”

“I won’t receive a training you won’t have.”

“You’re stupid. Go and train as a proper keyblade wielder. Don’t mind me. Stop putting me before you, idiot.”

“I knew you would say that, and that’s why I never told you. I’m sorry, Terra, but I refuse. It’s together, or nothing.”

He finally stretched out his arm, wrapping it around her shoulders.

“I can’t believe you. When will you learn to be ever so slightly egoist?”

“What do you mean? I’m fully egoist. I don’t want to train alone.”

He laughed. “Yeah, right. Thanks, Aqua. I really appreciate that you are doing that for me. But I still think that’s stupid. If your dream is to become a Master, the sooner you start training, the sooner you’ll become one. And you can even start controlling magic with that.”

“My dream isn’t to be a Master, Terra.”

“What?”

“My dream is for us to become Masters. Together. There’s just no point otherwise.”

He didn’t answer, resting his head against hers.

“I’m sorry I kept that from you. But do you think you could still pretend you don’t know, until you can summon yours?”

“I still think that’s stupid, but if that’s what you want… I’m sorry I went berserk at you. But I felt that would be the only way to know the truth.”

They smiled at each other, and started laughing with no real reason. They hated so much being mad at each other that it was always a great relief when things got sorted out.

“Terra, Aqua, what are you doing outside? You will catch a cold! Come on in for lunch, children.”

They cheerfully raced to the door, with big grins on.

Later that day, as Aqua was reading her book, Terra hesitantly stared at his apology book. He was starting to feel too old for that, but he still wanted to write in it. To find the right words.

_ I’m sorry I forced Aqua to reveal she had a keyblade. I didn’t understand she would do that to protect me. She’s always there, taking care of me, and there isn’t a day I’m not grateful for that. _

He closed the book, hoping he’d never have to write in it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid, Terra, that this won't be your last entry, though! However, it is true that the conclusion is getting much closer. These kids sure grew up a lot!


	13. Year 7, January

"Are you nervous?"

"Ha! Are you?"

"Yeah. A bit."

"... Me too, I guess."

The two kids - although, at twelve, they weren't really children anymore - took a deep breathe in.

"Together?"

"Always together."

And together, they pushed the heavy door of the Exam hall.

Eraqus was waiting for them, Keyblade in hand, a proud smile on his face.

"Terra. Aqua. Come forward. The time has come."

They both walked to their Master, and kneeled before him.

"Please, summon your keyblades, both of you."

Aqua summoned hers first. Terra had named it for her. Rainfell. She liked how it sounded. She placed it on the ground before her.

Terra, who had been able to summon his for a week now, made it appear and stared at his weapon for a few seconds before putting it on the ground as well. Earthshaker. It sounded tough, and he liked it.

"It is time for me to start training you as real Keyblade Wielders, for you will become one day accomplished Keyblade Masters. This training will be harder than what you've had before. It will take time. You might have to make sacrifices along the way. Are you willing to follow that training nevertheless?"

"Yes, Master." They answered in unison.

During the ceremony, Eraqus talked about the roles they would one day have, of protecting the balance of Light and Darkness, of fighting forces of evil and of keeping the worlds safe. How the Darkness might be trying to lure them, to tempt them, to seduce them, and how they would have to resist it.

They pledged to always help those in need, to always remain on the side of the Light, to never use their keyblades to hurt, but to protect. Eraqus put his hands on their heads.

"I shall therefore name you my disciples. The real training will start tomorrow at dawn."

They both lifted their head, and, without even knowing the other would do it to, they threw their arms around their Master's neck.

"Woah, easy there, easy! You don't want to break your old master, not until he's finished your training!"

Aqua giggled. "This is the last time we act inappropriately, I promise. Starting tomorrow, we will start acting as proper disciples."

Eraqus smiled as he closed his arms around them in a last embrace. Starting tomorrow, they would stop being his children, to become his students, so he'd rather not waste the last moments of the three of them being family.

They spent most of the day together, playing games, mostly. But when bedtime came, the two students found themselves staring at their door, a bit lost.

"Tomorrow." whispered Aqua.

"Tomorrow, everything will start."

"Tomorrow, some things will stop, too."

Terra looked at Aqua. "Hey, Aqua?"

"Yes?"

"We promised to stay away from the dark. To be responsible. To become people other could trust."

"We did."

"Don't you think it's time for our Apology Books to come to an end? If we have an issue, we should act as adult. Speak about it. Not write it down in a journal and pray things will get better soon."

"You are right. Let's write a final chapter to it, then. I'll go get mine!"

She joined Terra in his room a minute later, and they sat facing each other, the book in hand.

"This is full of memories, though." Sighed Terra.

"Not the best ones, however", Aqua laughed. "This is full of our mistakes. Of how childish we were. We were children, so it's okay, but I wish we had written a Grateful Book too."

Terra smirked. "What for? All these great memories, all these good times, I have them all written down." He tapped his temple. "Right in there."

Aqua nodded and laughed. "I can't believe I've been here for six years."

"Yeah, me neither."

"Do you still remember your hometown? I've realised… I can't remember my father's voice. My mother's smell. I can't tell what colour my bedroom walls were. It makes me a bit sad."

"Honestly… Back there, I had some friends, and I remember only half of their names. I even forgot when was my father's birthday. We were children, I think it's just normal. As long as we remember them, we don't have to remember all there was to know about them."

"There are days where I think… If none of that had happened, I would still live peacefully with my family. But I wouldn't know you, and that makes me sad too. Then I feel guilty of that."

"I think there's no point of thinking of what-ifs. Let's make the most out of every situation. Our past made us stronger. And it's thanks to that that we are friends now. That doesn't mean we can't feel sad for what happened, or that we have to forget it. Let it make us stronger."

Aqua smiled at him.

"You're right. Let's write that conclusion, then, shall we?"

"Sure."

She took her pen, lied down on the floor and opened her book to an empty page.

_I'm sorry for all the things I've made Terra live through along those years. And I'm sorry it resulted so often in me angering him. From now on, I will do my best never to hurt him anymore. I am grateful to have him as a friend, because I know he will always be there for me. I am also grateful for this book, because it helped me a lot to forgive him when he was wrong, but also to forgive myself._  
_This is this journal last entry, because there is no way a Keyblade Wielder can be seen bickering and write down apologies in a notebook rather than using actual words._  
 _Thank you for being by my side for so long._

Terra stared at her as she was writing. She was smiling, and for the first time, he noticed that she was… glowing, somehow. She looked up from her book, noticing his look.

"Come on, you should write too!"

"Alright, alright."

He thought about it for a while. He wasn't too good with words.

_I am sorry I made Aqua cry so much. I've been a jerk, I've been rude, I've been jealous. Most of the time, I wanted to protect her, but I did it the wrong way. I never want to make her cry anymore. I want to keep on protecting her, but I also acknowledge that she is strong enough to protect herself. I know I promised I'd never give in to the Darkness, but if that happened to be the only way to protect her one day, I know I wouldn't think twice._  
_Also, I am grateful for that journal, that helped me put my pride aside. Without it, Aqua and I might not be friends anymore. So thank you for protecting our friendship with that magic. I promise I will do everything in my power to protect that magic even long after that final note._  
 _I am grateful that I met Aqua._

"What did you write?"

"No peeking!" He closed his book quickly, and she laughed.

"Yeah, mine's top secret too. You will never know what's in it!"

Terra shrugged. "I don't need to, anyway. I'm forgiving you everything!" He flicked her forehead before winking at her.

"Hey, Terra, we promised we'd act as proper students from tomorrow on, right?"

"We swore, to be exact."

"I guess sleeping together isn't something _proper_?"

"Mmh… Probably not. That's something children do. Or couples. Not friends. At least, I think."

Aqua sighed. "Do you think… I mean, one last time…"

Terra laughed and made some room in his bed.

"That's starting from tomorrow! So let's be children one last night!"

She smiled and rushed to lie next to him. He patted her head, and they were soon asleep, hand in hand, the light still on, as they enjoyed one last night of childhood before turning into real apprentices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is actually one more entry to come. If you have read Secret Place, you might know which one it is. Some foreshadowing of events to come in games or in my fics in the chapter you just read, actually :p (Don't you worry, Aqua, no one will ever know what you wrote in there... oh, wait.)
> 
> Also, that quote "If we have an issue, we should act as adult. Speak about it." ... Mmh, it wasn't meant to but it relates more to my life than what I expected, so I'm afraid, children, that adults don't always tell things when they should x'D (oh, they will learn, though, that's the whole plot of BBS XDD )
> 
> Side note: we should get some more KH3 content around Friday (will be Saturday for me), I'm very excited and curious as to what it will be! Be sure to check the  
> #KH3Event on twitter (or to block it if you don't want to see anything!) to know more! Of course, I'll do my best to keep my author's notes spoiler-free of anything too big next week if we learn something really important (although let me tell you that if we get to see, like, a character's new outfit I might decide this isn't too spoilery and will mention it).
> 
> Anyway, that's all for today, stay tuned for last chapter next week :D


	14. Year 10, October

"It's gone! I can't find it anywhere!"

Aqua was rummaging her whole room, frantic. Terra noticed and stopped in front of her door, concerned.

"Aqua? What's going on? What is gone?"

"My necklace! I can't find my necklace, I was sure it was on that drawer, but it's not! Have you seen it?"

He realised her hands were shaking really hard, and he came in, taking them in his.

"How about I look for it, and you sit and calm down for a moment? I'm sure you just left it somewhere else. I'll find it."

She nodded and sat on her bed, still shaking. He remembered what necklace she was referring to, for he had seen it a few times around her neck - she often used it as a lucky charm.

He felt a bit uneasy going through her things. They weren't kids anymore, and they had learnt about giving each other some privacy. So instead of opening her drawers (where she probably had looked a thousand times anyway) he moved to the bathroom.

"Ha-ha!" He exclaimed after less than five minutes. They had a tiny basket, next to the sink, where they would put all the accessories that were laying around, such as hairpins, hair ties, and so on. The necklace was on the bottom of the box. He took it and took a minute to look at it. It was a simple blue stone, but it was pretty. He always loved when Aqua wore it, it somehow made her shine even more.

"Aqua, guess what I found?" He grinned at her, showing her the necklace. Her face lit up. "Here, catch!"

He threw the jewelry at her. But she wasn't expecting this, and she didn't catch it. Time slowed down as they both watched the stone land on the floor - crash on the floor - explode on the floor.

And time completely stopped for Terra, frozen, his eyes going from Aqua to the stone to Aqua to the stone.

"I thought you would… Aqua, I'm…"

"It was my mother's." She very calmly said. "The last thing I had of her."

He had no idea what to do. Apologizing would seem stupid - there was no way a _sorry_ would patch things up. He couldn't simply tell her he'd get her a new one, either - this wasn't any necklace.

"She made a promise, the day she gave it to me. _It's a promise that I will come back._ I guess I stupidly thought that as long as I had it, she could come back."

Terra's head was spinning. His heartbeat was ridiculously slow. What to do? His heart told him to hold Aqua in his arms, because she was sad. His brain told him that he was responsible for this and should stay away from her. And his body just wouldn't move at all.

"Terra, do you think you could give me some time alone, please? I… I think I need some me-time."

"Aqua, really, I'm… If you need anything, I'm next door."

She didn't answer, staring at the shards of blue cristal scattered on the floor.

"Could you close the door behind you? I will need to focus. No worries, it's daytime, I will be fine with the door closed."

He slowly left the room. She had not spared him a single glance.

* * *

Back in his room, he summoned his keyblade. After staring at it for a minute, he opened the window and threw it away. How could he ever be a Master when he was still so stupid? So immature? It was her most precious possession, and he _threw_ it. Had he not matured a bit after all these years? Thinking everything was a game?

Of course, Earthshaker came back. It always did. And although he usually enjoyed this security, today it was just more frustrating than ever.

After an hour of dwelling on what happened, it was pretty clear she wouldn't call him. There was no sound on her room. All he could hope was that she wasn't curled in her bed, crying.

He softly knocked on the door.

"Hey, Aqua? I'm going downstairs for a while. Just… Come down if you feel like it, okay?"

There was no answer. He hesitated to open the door, to check on her, but he decided not to. She probably needed some room. She probably hated him right now.

He opened the door of the training room. Earthshaker in hand, he expressed his self-anger using violence. Hitting, slashing, cutting all the targets that would magically appear. Let the anger out, until he was worn out.

"Did something happen?" Asked Master Eraqus, appearing by the door.

"Master! Nothing, it's just…" He bit his tongue, angry his first instinct had been to lie. "I messed up, and now Aqua is angry at me."

"Oh?" The Master almost looked amused. "It's been a while. Have you apologized to her?"

"Not yet. I can't." Terra stared at his feet.

"Can't? Why is that?"

"I've done something… That won't be fixed with a simple apology. She has every right in the worlds to hate me."

"What could you possibly have done to deserve so much anger, then? I don't think Aqua is capable of hating anyone. Especially you."

With a sigh, Terra explained the story to his Master. Right now, he felt a child once again, telling what naughty things he had done to his friend and asking what he could do to atone for his sin.

"Do you want me to talk to her this evening?" Eraqus's offer somehow relieved Terra.

"If you don't mind, that would be very kind of you. Thank you, Master."

Eraqus laughed, leaving the room. "No matter how much they grow up, children will alway be children."

* * *

Eraqus went to talk to Aqua before dinner. But when he came back, she wasn't with him.

"I think she needs some time, Terra. Let's give her about as much time as she needs. She will go out once she's ready."

Terra nodded, the feeling of shame stronger than ever. When he left his Master to go to sleep, it was pretty late. There was still some light in Aqua's room. He gently opened the door, just half-opening it. There was no sound in the room.

"Aqua?"

He quickly glanced inside. She was sitting at her desk, her back facing him. She didn't react to his presence.

"Hey, I'm leaving the door open for the night. Goodnight."

He made sure to leave the light on the corridor on, and went to his bedroom, wondering if her silence was a sign of how angry she was.

* * *

She didn't leave the room the next day. Or the day that followed. Master Eraqus brought her some food, and insisted that she needed time. Terra was devastated.

As he was sitting at his desk, trying to focus on a history book, his eyes caught something on a shelf. A red book. His Apology Book. He had not used it since the beginning of their training. But perhaps all he needed right now was a bit of magic? He couldn't face her, he couldn't apologize because he wouldn't expect her to forgive him. But the book wouldn't be as judgemental. Taking a pen, he opened the book at an empty page.

_I'm the worst. I broke Aqua's necklace by accident. It was her mother's. She spent three days locked in her room and she won't talk to me. I want to hold her in my arms and apologize for everything, because she's the one I love._

He scoffed. How easy it was to be so honest through a book. How easy it was to confess feelings that had started growing for more than a year.

They grew up together, and for a long time, she was a sister to him. But as they turned fifteen, he had come to realise that he didn't want to treat her as a sister anymore. That she was more than simply a friend. He had started to notice how pretty she actually was. How he loved when she smiled, when she laughed. How he always cared about what she would think of him, scared she would judge him. How it suddenly scared him to think that one day, once they were Masters, they would live in different worlds.

But of course, there was no way she would think of him that way, so he kept it all for himself.

And now…

Now there was no way she would even regard him as a friend.

"Terra? Am I… bothering you?"

He almost jumped out of his chair at her soft voice. He turned around, and there she was, standing at the door, dark circles under her eyes.

"Bothering? Aqua, you are never bothering me! How are you feeling?" He regretted the last question. Wasn't it obvious how she was feeling? Down, sad, angry?

"A bit tired, I must say. Could you help me with this?"

She showed something in her hand, and Terra gasped. It was the blue stone. Almost as good as new.

"Is that… but I…"

She chuckled. "It took me a while to repair it. Sorry I wasn't really communicative."

"I thought you hated me."

"Hate you?" She looked genuinely surprised. "Why would I hate you?"

"I'm the one who broke it… There's no word to express how terrible I feel, and I…"

"Oh no, Terra, I'm sorry!" She covered her mouth with her hand, and then _he_ was the surprised one. What could she be apologizing for? "For these three days, you thought that I was… No! I was just really focused on repairing it, but… Why would I hate you for that?"

"Well, it's your mother's necklace, and you said…"

"I'm the one who didn't catch it! You haven't done anything wrong! When it broke, I'll admit I was sad. But it also made me realise that it was time to let go of that promise. To turn a page that should have been turned long ago. I'm so terribly sorry you thought I was angry. I could never get angry at you. And look, it's fixed now."

She showed the necklace once again, and he carefully helped her putting it on.

"And are we? Are we fixed?"

She laughed. "I don't think such a weak event could break our connection, Terra. Terra?"

He had thrown his arms around her, hugging her from behind.

"Don't ever scare me like this again, Aqua. My heart won't survive it."

She smiled, leaning against him. "I'm sorry. Thank you for opening my door when night came. I didn't react, but it meant a lot to me."

They both fell silent, letting this embrace last probably longer than what it should have, their hearts racing in their chest, unaware that the feeling was mutual.

Terra quickly glanced at the open notebook on his desk.

_My magic always works_ , had once said Eraqus, on the first time they used this notebook.

Terra had to admit that in ten years, never once had it failed him.

* * *

**Fin**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done. It's over. Whenever I start posting a long fic (as I often know how long they will last), I'm thinking "this is going to end in forever". When I wrote my posting schedule, thinking that I had a fic that would take until May, MAY, sounded so far away. And now, here we are. We reached forever, I guess? Since I started this fic, we've been granted an extra trailer. Some lucky people had the opportunity of playing a demo of KHIII. E3 is less than a month away. So many things happened, it's quite crazy. I have not been waiting for KHIII for as long as many of you, I suppose, but I'm really excited about the upcoming game, and really happy to be part of this community. I've heard that it can be toxic, but I've never stumbled across toxic people around here, so I guess I'm pretty lucky :D
> 
> Thank you so much for your kind words, thank you so much for reading this fic, whether you left reviews or not. I remember that time when I was watching a stream and someone told me they were reading this fic, that made me so happy, so hi to you :D There are more multi chaps fics to come, more one shots, more everything, so stay tuned, and once again thank you for your love and support throughout these three months ! <3


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